Santana's Hot Wind (Western Artists I Discovered Through JoJo)

One manga series I still continue to buy in comic book form is Hirohiko Araki's JoJo's Bizarre Adventure.
It has been about 37 years since it started serialization in Weekly Shonen Jump in December 1986.

This series continues to be written with the protagonist JoJo changing with each generation, and currently, the 9th part is underway. (I hope Hirohiko Araki-sensei keeps writing it forever.)

Also, in this series, the names of the characters (or the special abilities used by the protagonists, etc.) are often taken from Western music artists, bands, album titles, or song titles.

It likely reflects Hirohiko Araki-sensei's personal tastes, and as a reader, it's one of the fun points because I feel a sense of shared connection with Araki-sensei.

Let me introduce a few names from the characters in Part 1 and Part 2.

And that's how it is.
You see some names you've heard before, right? 🙆
The patterns of pairs like "Dire Straits" and "Loggins & Messina" are fun, but what became a topic among friends were the names of the clan called the "Pillar Men," who are the protagonists' arch-enemies in Part 2.

"Kars" is just the Boston-born rock band "The Cars," but "Wamuu" comes from the idol-like popular group "Wham!," right? (A bit of a stretch)
And then for "Esidisi" , it's named after the Australian rock band "AC/DC" ... (Quite a stretch lol)
What fun naming!
They were all popular groups in the 80s, and since I listened to them myself in high school, I was happy!

However, the only one I didn't know was "Santana" , but a friend who is knowledgeable about Western music told me there is a band with that name...
So, I headed to the rental shop right away.

Therefore, this time, I will introduce the Western artist that served as my gateway to "JoJo's Bizarre Adventure," "JoJo's Bizarre Adventure," "Santana" . (That was a long intro)

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Perhaps the most well-known track is the instrumental "Europa (Earth's Cry Heaven's Smile)", and I was looking for the album containing this song at the rental shop, but...

It's a song you'll recognize the moment you hear it!
It's that one!

Actually, back when I went to rent it, CDs and records were still being sold side-by-side, and "Santana" wasn't in the CD section. (It was an era where many older albums still hadn't been released on CD.)
So, I looked in the record section and picked up this album.

"Abraxas"

Original title: Abraxas
The 2nd album released in 1970

Isn't this album cover amazing?
A super high-density design!
The moment I discovered it, I just knew I had to listen to it!

When I listened to it at home, it was so cool, so cool!
I see, it's Latin and powerful, but it's not that cheerful "Amigo!" kind of vibe; it's actually quite edgy.

The cover song that is considered one of their signature tracks, "Black Magic Woman", and "Oye Como Va" are great, but personally, the rock track "Mother's Daughter" was my absolute favorite!
Also, there are many instrumental tracks like "Samba Pa Ti", not just vocal tracks, and that balance was incredibly cool.

It was an energetic album that lived up to the impact of its cover, and it felt like I was completely swept away in an instant.

"Black Magic Woman"

"Mother's Daughter"

"Samba Pa Ti"

I liked "Abraxas" so much that I ended up picking up other albums that also had high-density covers.

Like this one, and that one
The covers were just so cool, Santana...

"Santana III"

The 3rd album released in 1971

"Amigos"

The 7th album released in 1976

However, I always ended up listening to the ones released in the 70s.
I think there were some released in the 80s, but I just never came across them.
So, in my mind, they were a band that was active in the 70s!
That was my image of Santana. (For a long, long time)

And yet, there was that sudden Santana boom that happened at the end of the century!
"Smooth" became a huge hit!

I wonder what that movement was all about.
I don't think it was the theme song for a movie, but I remember "Smooth" being played quite a lot that summer.

"Smooth (ft. ROB THOMAS)"

"Maria Maria (ft. The Product G&B)"

"Corazon Espinado (ft. Mana)"

No, no, even though he's gotten older and doesn't have that sharp edge from his early days, Carlos Santana's guitar is still cool!

This album, which includes "Smooth," was also a hit!
I listened to it a lot that summer.

"Supernatural"

Original title: Supernatural
The 18th album released in 1999
Winner of the 42nd Grammy Awards (2000) Album of the Year, etc.

The jacket design was also very dense, and I was happy to feel that, yes, this is definitely Santana.
Hot days are still continuing, but I hope you can also feel the hot wind of Santana.

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I introduced Santana as a Western artist I discovered through "JoJo's Bizarre Adventure", and I am grateful to Hirohiko Araki sensei for introducing me to them! (Congrats! The release of The JOJOLands Vol. 1 comics)

....I might do this type of article again!

♫